These are the world’s most powerful passports in 2026

Not all passports are born equal. More than their logos, they are influenced by world events, diplomacy, and restrictions that vary from country to country.

Over the past few years, UK citizens have seen their most important identity documents undergo mammoth changes, including swapping European red for a return to ‘British blue.’

It might have been 10 years since the UK voted to leave the EU, but changes are still being made.

In October, the EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES) rolled out across every crossing point within the Schengen Zone, and UK passengers are now required to hand over biometric data, including fingerprints and a photo scanned with facial recognition technology.

Now, a new study has weighed in on the world’s most powerful passports for 2026. It’s little surprise that the UK doesn’t rank in the top five.

What is the world’s most powerful passport in 2026?

The Henley Passport Index ranks passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without applying for a visa, based on numbers from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the world’s largest travel database.

Right at the top, Singapore has the world’s most powerful passport, and has retained its position for the third year running.

Its citizens can unlock 192 destinations visa-free, which certainly lessens the faff involved with going on holiday.

Since 2018, though, Singapore has either been in 1st or 2nd place, as it dropped down as the runner-up in 2020 and 2023.

In joint second place are Japan and South Korea, which offer unrestricted, visa-free access to 188 destinations, 10 fewer than the top spot.

It’s not just Asian countries dominating the ranks, though: Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland are all in joint place, unlocking travel to 186 destinations.

And, for the first time in the study’s history, there’s a 10-way tie for fourth place, held by Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway.

How powerful is the British passport in 2026?

Wondering how the UK fares?

It’s down in seventh place, holding the key to 182 visa-free destinations. This might not sound as bad as you’d think, but the reality is that we were once deemed the most powerful passport.

It wasn’t just the once, either: 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2015 all saw us come out on top. The implications of Brexit might not have immediately come in in 2016, but it did see us rank 4th in 2017.

And we’ve been dropping ever since, as in 2018, we were fifth, 2019 sixth, and 2020 and 2021 seventh.

Still, the position of the world’s least powerful passport went to Afghanistan, as its citizens are only able to travel to 24 destinations without a visa.

The study concludes that this represents the stark ‘scale of global mobility inequality in 2026,’ which has widened dramatically since 2006, when the difference between the top-ranking passport (then the US) and Afghanistan was 118 destinations. It’s now 168.

‘Over the past 20 years, global mobility has expanded significantly, but the benefits have been distributed unevenly,’ says Dr Christian H. Kaelin, chairman at Henley & Partners and creator of the Henley Passport Index.

‘Today, passport privilege plays a decisive role in shaping opportunity, security, and economic participation, with rising average access masking a reality in which mobility advantages are increasingly concentrated among the world’s most economically powerful and politically stable nations.’

Plus, in 2026, a record number of people are expected to travel abroad – and the research reckons that this is a sign that holidays are becoming more accessible.

But, as IATA’s director general, General Willie Walsh, adds, more people might have the ‘economic freedom’ to cross borders, but ‘many nationalities are seeing that a passport alone is no longer sufficient to cross borders.’

He says: ‘As many governments look to more tightly secure their borders, technological advances such as digital ID and digital passports should not be overlooked by policymakers. Convenient travel and secure borders are possible.’

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